Crosshairs

Chapter Twenty-One – Some Secrets Never Stay Buried


Once Emmett registered Isabella's words, he snorted and started to chuckle loudly. Esme's shrewd glare cut to him, quickly putting an end to his laughter.

"I see Edward's taste is as bad as my other son's in women."

Isabella smirked and looked beyond her where Jasper stood, dressed in an impeccable gray suit, looking more like himself. "Emmett's tastes are getting better as we speak." She didn't look at her best friend, not wanting the woman to aim her lethal glare at her, too.

"I'm talking about Jasper and you know it." Esme stepped forward, but Carlisle held her back.

Isabella didn't bat an eyelash as she readied for the truth to come out. "Excuse me, but you did say your son?"

Esme's hand settled on her chest, her breathing uneven, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"I should've known you would figure that out." Carlisle shook his head and suggested they take it inside.

Jasper stepped out from behind his parents and watched Isabella with shrewd but assessing eyes. "You know the truth, don't you?"

Jasper's appearance, his usual cool demeanor, shocked Edward and Emmett. Their brother hadn't looked so put together in months, if not longer. His parents had time to sober him up since the incident at the facility, but the alertness and personality they'd come to know had returned. As if the last several months had never happened.

"What the hell are all of you talking about?" Edward was tired of all the lies, having reached his boiling point. The evening barely started. "I thought we'd agreed to confront them after the rest of the family had left, Isabella?"

"No one else is here, other than Felix and their guest, Alec's victim. Mary Alice will not be joining us for dinner." Isabella's eyes remained on Esme. "We're talking about the fact that Jasper is your half-brother and he's known all along."

Edward closed his eyes when his parents said nothing in response to Isabella's accusations. Only Jasper had the perfect poker face. "Everyone inside the fucking the house before someone overhears this conversation."

Rose spoke up at last, sort of bemused, but she expected nothing less with this family. Her best friend found out every secret someone had; it was something she was good at, if not better than killing someone. "The jamming equipment in the house has been upgraded and I called in a favor to get rid of the ears across the street before meeting up with your brother."

"Meeting up? Don't you mean locking me in the trunk of the car and kidnapping me?" Emmett grinned, but then thought better of it. He tried for stern again and glared at his parents. Some habits are hard to break, and easing tension with a joke was his go-to reaction. They had to stop, because keeping secrets didn't always benefit everyone involved. "I'm with Edward—what the fuck are you talking about? What do you mean Jasper is our half-brother?"

"Dad met someone at a bar and took her home while vacationing with the family in Italy. He had no idea he fucked Aro's rarely mentioned sister, Gianna. It was a one-night stand; he met Mom shortly afterward and they married within weeks of meeting, but Gianna suddenly returned claiming to be pregnant. Mom was also expecting a child."

Esme held up her hand, asking Jasper to stop. "Let's go inside. It is our story, too. It's only fair we have the chance to tell it ourselves."

Everyone agreed, but Isabella turned to face the end of the driveway and saluted, a tiny pinprick of reflective light shone in the dark in response. She had her people watching over them. "Looks like we're still good." She joined Edward and looked around the immaculate home as they entered the foyer. The mansion was gorgeous, but it felt cold and somewhat empty, more like a museum for priceless furniture and artwork.

They settled in the family room, no TV on the wall, every piece of furniture matched, as well as the fabrics. There wasn't a crease; not on the couches or even the pillows that decorated each corner. As if it was rarely used.

Carlisle stood behind an ivory winged chair where his wife demurely sat. "Gianna wanted nothing to do with her family or ours, but the only way to escape them was…"

"To seduce you so she can get pregnant and ask for money?" Edward questioned, seething underneath his own stoic expression. For his family, for the idea of paying off someone for a child. It was one of the reasons his relationships never lasted, he always feared they were after his money and the power his family had.

"There was very little choice in the matter; she was too far along. We hadn't decided what to do with the child at that point…" Carlisle shook his head; his weary blue eyes seemed a million miles away. "Your grandfather, along with your mother, and I agreed to hide her, and once the baby was born, she'd be set up for life somewhere else. Hidden from even her family."

Esme wrapped her hands around her arms, a glimpse of an old ache resurfacing in her eyes. "I was angry at first, but how could I hate your father for something that happened before me? I already knew then we'd ensure the baby would want for nothing, but then I lost our baby, and we were devastated." She looked toward the fire that roared in the hearth, illuminating her face as she continued. "Gianna didn't want her baby, but I did."

"We did." Carlisle ruffled Jasper's hair, much to his annoyance. "One look at him and I couldn't deny he was mine."

"I raised him, I'm his mother." Esme's words were fierce and protective, inflicted with love, as well. She captured Jasper's hand as he passed, and he appeared to believe her. There was no resentment in his eyes; only the love he had for his mother. "However, we received a letter almost two years ago, someone else knows. We don't know if it was a Rossi or another rival family."

Edward stood and started to pace, a habit of his whenever he processed new information. "Once Jasper took over after Carlisle stepped down, you were all afraid his paternity would be questioned. You couldn't risk that."

Carlisle watched his son and realized that he reminded him of himself back when his own father readied to step down. "Whoever wrote that letter threatened to expose our secret if he became my successor."

After a moment, Edward spun around, looking lethal as well as betrayed. "It was all fake— everything from that bitch Maria to Jasper's addiction that led to his announcement, to stepping aside for me to take over."

Emmett was in shock. "God, we fell for it so damn easy."

The venom in his voice startled Esme; it was so unheard of, to hear her baby boy so menacing and cold. She had to look away.

Emmett rounded on Jasper and pointed a finger at him. "You're our fucking brother no matter what some blackmailing asshole says, but to keep us in the dark is fucked up."

Jasper stood his ground, standing in front of the hearth, the crackling fire his backdrop. "Your reactions had to be real. We couldn't risk you failing at playing your parts. It was too much of a conscious risk to take. The family was at stake here."

The calculated stare, the calmness in Jasper's tone, the one that usually put people at ease, came too easy as if he had it all along. None of it had been real.

Edward turned away from them all, his hands clenched in fists. Everyone in that room, apart from his brother Emmett, had lied to him. Even his Isabella. Vile words were on the tip of his tongue as he whirled around to face her.

"Don't you take it out on me." Isabella stood, hands on her hips, staring him down. "I had to confront and catch them off guard. Some secrets must remain secrets, but your brother being half Rossi never should've been hidden from you two."

"Damn fucking right." Emmett sat heavily on the couch, his eyes staring blankly at a point behind Rose's head. His mind went over memories, anything to indicate that the last year hadn't been a fluke. "Can't forget they set you up too, Edward. You and Isabella."

Jasper appeared confused. "What are you talking about?"

Edward scoffed, waving his arms around. "Finally, something you know nothing about!"

Jasper advanced toward his little brother. "I did what had to be done for the family. Did you honestly think I would fall for someone so materialistic, who had no respect for authority, and looked at Mom's lavish jewelry like it would all be hers one day?"

"I thought you were being led around by your dick." Edward shrugged, no remorse in his tone. "It wouldn't be the first time, apparently, for a Cullen to fall into bed with a woman like Maria." He glared at his father as he finished his little tirade.

Carlisle looked uncomfortable, but he quickly managed to retain his neutral expression. He'd been young, and in truth, his dick did a lot of the talking back then.

"It wasn't all an act," Emmett stated, watching Jasper. "When you thought no one was watching you, I saw you liked Maria, maybe even loved her. Did you even kill her? Or did someone have to carry out the order?"

Jasper didn't acknowledge his brother's words; his eyes did all the talking before they shuttered closed. Instead, he turned his attention to Edward. "It was so damn easy for you to be manipulated," he sneered, then glanced toward Carlisle. "Maybe handing over the reins to Edward in the next few months is too soon, Dad. He's more of a puppet than a master."

Edward got in Jasper's face; his own flushed with anger, his words loud and accusing. "That's because the family was whom I was taught to always believe in. No matter what, the family came first. It was drilled into my head: nothing comes between us. Nothing. No one. Instead, you all let yourselves be manipulated by this blackmailer."

"He's right." Isabella mused out loud. "Finding out who the blackmailer is should be a top priority. He or she has to be eliminated. You probably did exactly what they wanted. So why is Edward being the head of the family so important to them?"

Esme's eyes narrowed as Isabella's eyes landed on her. "Edward is a Cullen and my own flesh and blood; his paternity is legitimate."

Isabella shrugged. "I had to be sure."

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose; a headache forming and making his eyes burn with exhaustion. "Isabella is right. We need to assess the situation and figure out who has the most to gain from my becoming the head of the family. Who else knows Jasper is half Rossi and half Cullen?"

Carlisle looked at Isabella. "The last person in that delivery room was killed by the Phoenix. It was made to look like an accident years ago. Is that what clued you in on your suspicions?"

"I make sure I know everything about a person when the crew is asked to carry out a contract. At the time, I didn't think anything of the fact that Olivia Davis was a nurse up until shortly after you announced the birth of your son Jasper. It wasn't until recently when I started to question who he really was. Though, a Jane Doe had delivered the baby, her age and disappearance matched with Gianna's sudden need to join a convent."

Jasper stepped closer to Edward's fiancée, ignoring his brother's growl. His little brother was quite protective of her, and who could blame him. She had a small frame, beautiful delicate features hidden behind makeup, but there was something about her. His father told him Edward had fallen in love with someone who was part of the group of assassins they had on speed dial. He'd figured it had to do with the books, though, considering her business degree.

He couldn't let go of the instinct that she was more.

"What made you think I was a Rossi?" He had to know what gave him away.

"You share quite a few family traits with them. The eyes are definitely your father's, but you have the same sharp nose the Rossi's have. The cleft in your chin is a Rossi trait; all the males in the family have it, so is that left dimple. Your hair color is also similar to Jane's. You even have the same maniacal laugh as Alec."

"How would you know that? You've never met the man. Or have you?" Jasper pushed forward, closing in on her, towering over her. Desperate for answers.

Edward stepped toward them as Emmett got to his feet. "That's enough."

"Say it," Jasper spat. "Tell everyone here who you really are."

Isabella held up her chin, her hands at her sides, and she stared at Jasper. "I am the Phoenix and I'm the one who killed Maria."

Edward cursed as Jasper grabbed her, but Emmett held him back. "Let her show him she's not to be fucked with."

Isabella grabbed the hand tightening on her shoulder, her nails biting into Jasper's skin. She wasn't seeing his face, though; it was someone else. Her free hand disarmed him of his weapon, tossing it away to where Felix, Carlisle's bodyguard, pocketed it and stood back, awaiting orders.

Her eyes remained on Jasper's darkened gaze. "I don't want to hurt you."

The cool demeanor Edward had seen in his brother earlier disappeared; in its place, anger took over. Something he rarely saw in Jasper while sober. Had those drunken tirades and incidents after Maria's death been real?

"You're just a little girl." Jasper groaned at the pain in his hand but refused to let her go. "You should've let my brother go as soon as you realized who he was. You knew you'd have to face me after killing my wife."

"The same wife who fucked a former, disgraced cop during your marriage? The same wife who tried to use a fake pregnancy to save her life? The same wife who made a move on both of your brothers during your faux romance? Do you mean that wife?"

"It may have started and ended that way, but in our own way we loved each other!" Jasper tried to head-butt her but she dodged it.

Another face superimposed over Jasper's; instead of anger in the asshole's eyes was a sick perverted pleasure.

"You've given me no choice," she said in a chilling tone that sent trickles of fear through everyone. In a move that Edward had never seen before, she grabbed Jasper's arm, used it as leverage, placed her foot on his thigh, spun around, and climbed onto his back in less than two seconds. Her arms wrapped around his neck from behind, pulling until they both fell to the ground. In her chokehold, he spat and sputtered. "You will never lay a hand on me in anger. Do you understand me?"

Jasper clawed at her arm fruitlessly, the long sleeve of her dress a hindrance. His face was red with his anger and lack of air.

"Do you understand?" She tightened her hold as everyone stood stock-still around them.

Esme looked desperate to put a stop to her. Rose only stood back and smiled, but in a stance that indicated she was ready to fulfill her duty. Emmett looked in awe and a bit aroused to Edward's annoyance, though his expression was no less different from his baby brother's gaping look.

"Isabella, let him go." Carlisle needed to control the situation, not the hired help. Something in his expression betrayed his thoughts.

"This is what you wanted when you made sure that your son and I met and fell in love. I will never allow a man, or anyone for that matter, to hurt me physically. It will be the last thing they do."

Her eyes were almost black, her emotions on the surface. Edward realized something was wrong with the situation, with her.

Rose slapped Edward's arm and tipped her head. "Talk her down or she's going to kill him."

"Isabella." His soft whisper of her name had her eyes instantly go to his, a whimper falling from her lips. "Let him go and let me take you home."

"He tried to hurt me."

"I know, baby."

Jasper's body stilled, ceasing to struggle. He had enough sense to realize that Isabella had no qualms about killing him. Phoenix had only done what she was hired to do, what he couldn't do. "I forgive you," he choked out, his eyes rolling closed.

Isabella's arms fell to her side as tears fell from her eyes, hating herself. She had let the past mingle with the present. Some secrets never remained buried, no matter how much a person tried. Now she had to tell her husband-to-be everything. Could she share the worst moments in her life with someone else? She had never shared with anyone but her father and Edward's father. Even they didn't know all the details of that night.

She had been sixteen again when Jasper grabbed her, in a dark house, where two men raped and killed her mother, and then tried to do the same to her. Maybe once the truth came out, Edward would understand, not even family would save his uncle from her wrath.


AN: Thanks to MC for all your help with the chapter, any mistakes are mine since I messed with it after her edits. I'm currently writing/posting this from AZ while visiting Dawn aka kyla713. Lots of writing going on and other shenanigans. I realized after writing this chapter that I need to create a family tree for both the Cullen and the Rossi families. I'll work on it soon and post on Facebook and Twitter, and leave a link in my profile once I do. Thanks for reading!